A young angler from Ousethorpe, near Pocklington, is now the proud owner of a trophy for landing last season's largest rainbow trout to be taken by a junior fly fisher at Rutland Water in the East Midlands.

It was almost pitch black when John Frank caught the 5lb 5oz specimen with his final cast of the day back in October and he was recently presented with the trophy for his achievement. It was the fourth largest rainbow trout caught at the venue since 1979.

A self-taught fly-fisherman for three years, he makes his own flies and used a minky, which imitates roach, to catch his record rainbow trout.

He had been travelling down to Rutland Water regularly since he took up the sport, but his A-level studies at St Peter's School meant that last year he was not able to fish the venue much. As part of his A-level design project he is constructing a fly tying storage unit.

The largest rainbow trout he caught last year was 11lb 12oz at Starr Carr, Brandsburton, where in his first competitive season he won both the matches he fished there.

His mother Sheila is a member of England Ladies Fly Fishers and she has guided him through the skills of the sport. They fished together in a pairs competition at Rutland Water last year, finishing sixth.

He won five Troutmaster badges last season, three at Star Carr and one each at Wykeham and Wansford. The Troutmaster is a competition where three badges are awarded a month for the three largest fish at each fishery in the scheme.

Frank, who was 17 when he caught the trophy-winning rainbow trout but is now in the senior ranks following his 18th birthday in December, is fishing all these three venues in a fish-off, hoping to win a place in the Troutmaster national final in September.

Starr Carr have offered him the chance to fish in the Airflo Classic national team competition and he hopes to represent the fishery in the final.

He will be competing in the Trout Fisherman European Open heat at Rutland Water in April, hoping to make the team for the final.

He will be going to De Montfort University, Leicester, in September to read building surveying, which means that he will be closer to Rutland Water and have more chance to pursue his sporting ambition to represent England as a fly fisher at the highest level.

Updated: 11:30 Wednesday, February 07, 2001